We are living in an era which can be defined in large part by the speed with which it continues to witness technological change.
This is particularly true when it comes to communications tech, which over the last decade or so has not only fundamentally altered how we live but also, it could be argued, the evolution of human consciousness itself.
As well as the profound effect on how we operate as human beings, however, broadband-based communications technology has also fundamentally altered how we do business.
This is most obviously apparent, at least in the business radio world, in the slow but sure move towards narrowband/broadband hybridisation. In certain business contexts, meanwhile, we are even seeing attempts to replace narrowband altogether, as with the UK government’s Emergency Services Network project.
While all this is clearly complicated enough, it also seems likely that the pace of change is only going to increase as we go forward. 5G has already well and truly embedded itself in the discussion, for instance, something which will have been obvious to anyone reading Land Mobile over the course of the past year.
And now there is 6G, the standardisation process for which is scheduled to begin any time now. (The International Telecommunication Union plans for the initial 6G standardisation to be finished no later than 2030).
A huge amount of work still needs to take place before then, however, in terms of conceptualising both the technology itself and the potential use-case. This is where this issue’s Big Interview subject comes in – Dr Henrik Almeida, who is Ericsson’s head of research for the UK and Ireland.
Next G alliance
Towards the end of last year, Ericsson announced that it would be setting up what it described as a “multi-million-pound 6G research programme in the UK”.
Discussing it in a statement at the time, the company said: “Tens of millions of pounds will be invested by Ericsson over the next 10 years in a UK-based program that will focus on 6G research and breakthrough innovations.
“Research areas will include network resilience and security, artificial intelligence, cognitive networks and energy efficiency. [These are] all considered to be key building blocks of the world’s future digital infrastructure for society, industries and consumers.”
According to Ericsson, the programme will employ 20 dedicated researchers, while at the same time supporting “additional PhD students who will work alongside leading academics, CSPs and industry partners”. It will be led, as mentioned, by Almeida.
Discussing his background in the industry, he says: “I have been working in Ericsson Research for the last 25 years, and now I’m over here in the UK to lead our new 6G research site. We already have a development in Ireland [based in Dublin and Athlone], but we haven’t had a research effort in the UK as of yet.”
He continues: “The UK was chosen because of the ecosystem which is already in place here when it comes to wireless technology research. The decision was made after carrying out a thorough analysis.
“There’s much research going on in important related technologies such as AI, quantum, photonics, and semiconductor technologies, where the UK is also very advanced.”
The other major attraction, according to Almeida, was the attitude of the current government in terms of its ambition for the UK to be at the “leading edge” of future telecoms technology.
“You could say that if 5G doesn’t succeed, why would 6G? But in the UK, I’m confident that 5G will,” he says. “I think the UK is somewhere where 5G really happens, and that there is the potential for it to show real leadership [as a country]. Of course, that goes for 6G as well.
“These new use-cases that we’ve been talking about may not have really taken off yet, but we really believe they can.”
The history of 6G, such as it is, goes back to around 2020, which saw initial forays into the burgeoning standard’s research and development. 2020 was also when the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions convened its ‘Next G Alliance’, consisting of a variety of industry big-hitters, including Ericsson.
That being the case, it would clearly be wrong to say that Almeida is embarking on his work from a standing start. Rather, he conceives of the development of the standard as a continuum, with the immediate frame of reference obviously being 5G.
He says: “I’d say that we started to do basic research into 6G around 2016. A company like Ericsson needs to be something like 10 to 15 years ahead in order to take the lead later on, when the standardisation process starts. That’s how it all started.
“All of the experts and researchers in our organisation have been included in this work. We needed to define potential scenarios, what technologies could play a role, as well as what technologies could be required in future networks.”
He continues: “When you have a new ‘G’, the research continues on from different pre-existing radio technologies, adding new capabilities. And for us, 6G is a wireless communications network, with all the features that entails, including mobility, security and quality of service.
“But a new ‘G’ becomes necessary when, for instance, new spectrum is needed, which is something we believe to be the case. When new radio and architecture is needed, that’s what ultimately defines it.
“If you think about the different successive generations, it’s a continual evolution of the network. For instance, IP native 4G and all the applications for mobile phones. Each generation has been really revolutionary for society.
“We’re still in the process of researching 5G Advanced, and some of the things we call 6G could conceivably drop into 5G as well.”
Signifier of meaningful change
Earlier in the interview, Almeida stated that each subsequent new ‘G’ is necessary because of some fundamental shift in the developmental landscape. That the move from ‘4’ to ‘5’ and now to ‘6’ isn’t – as some might view it – just marketing, but a genuine signifier of meaningful change, happening at the level of the technology itself.
With that in mind, what benefits is the next generation actually likely to bring? And is there anything that Ericsson’s UK 6G research effort is prioritising in particular?
Almeida says: “When we present [6G as a concept], we talk about several use-case scenarios and several technology scenarios. We have defined each of these within the research strategy, guiding us in how we should move forward, in order to eventually define 6G in the standards. It’s a massive effort.
“In terms of what we’re prioritising, the UK effort will look at all aspects of the technology in collaboration with Ericsson’s global research organisation. My mission is essentially to extend and complement the research, which is already going on. This is something which involves the publication of papers, carrying out basic standardisation work and so on.”
While Almeida says that the UK effort will be looking at 6G across the piece, there are some specific areas that will “complement and extend the ongoing research”. These specifically include the hardware security aspect and networking, with a particular focus, when it comes to the latter, on joint communication sensing and dense 6G architectures.
Elaborating on this, he says: “When it comes to the network areas, it’s about deployments and 6G densification. Massive MIMO, integrated access backhaul, intelligent reflective surfaces... all these new technologies are being worked on, with research perhaps leading into new deployment strategies.
“We want to answer the question of how do you deploy them? How do you do densification in the smartest way, also considering the new spectrum?”
Staying on the subject of spectrum, another question that needs to be answered is: Will the requisite frequency be available in order “to do all those things that we would like to do”?
For those who don’t know, it is planned that 6G will be enabled by what is referred to as ‘centimetric’ spectrum, sitting between 7GHz and 20GHz. Almeida also believes that sub-terahertz frequency could play a role when the standard is eventually commercialised, all the way down the line, post-2030.
Regarding the potential use-case for the technology, meanwhile, he locates this primarily in the hoped-for cross-over between the digital and physical worlds. This is something which he refers to as the “cyber physical continuum”.
“If you think about an industry,” he says, “all of its assets and resources can be digitised. That includes software, documents, human beings, systems… anything. At the same time, you can also digitise processes.”
He continues: “What you’ll be able to do [with 6G] is enter into extended realities, which is sometimes called the metaverse. This will enable you to move in time and space, observe what’s going on and optimise your different processes.
“In this environment, the machines themselves can request services from the network in an intelligent way. If you are an operator, or someone managing machinery, you will be able to optimise things in a much different and more efficient way than today.
“That includes things like predictive maintenance, scheduling, avoiding resources waste, and so on. Obviously, AI – which is another important part of our research – is going to play a key
role in this.”
The journey towards 6G is at a very early stage, with the requirements still being codified prior to the beginning of standardisation. With those requirements “starting to pop as of next year”, according to Almeida, it will be interesting to see what happens next.
